Carolina Rig? You Mean Rigs Don't You?

Historically the Carolina Rig is seen as the one to use for catching
many bass, not big bass. This has changed as anglers "diddled" with the
rig over the years. It is very likely the most versatile fishing rig
available to anglers today. It can be fished any time of the year and
in any weather with many different plastic lures and produce bass.

Rigging the Carolina Rig

The "standard" configuration
utilizes a heavy fishing sinker (weight) weighing up to an ounce which is bullet
shaped and drilled end to end with a hole through which the main line
is threaded.

The sinker is placed on the line, pointed end first, and

followed
by a plastic or glass bead. The bead is intended as protection for the
knot from the battering it takes from the sinker sliding back and forth
against it.

A fishing swivel is then tied to the end of the main line and

to it is tied a "leader" of lesser pound strength. The leader can
range from a foot to several feet in length depending on fishing
conditions.

You will notice in the photo above there is a round
brass "button", often called a clacker or clicker, between the sinker
and bead that is sometimes used by anglers to create more sound as the
lure is dragged or pulled across the bottom. The impact of the sinker,
clacker and bead hitting together enhances the sounds made by the rig as
it is given action by the angler.

Main lines for this rig are
usually from 10-20lb in strength while the leader is usually 10lb and
often fluorocarbon instead of mono.

A pre-rigged Carolina Rig is available as shown above.
All the components are assembled on a wire and packaged. You merely
remove it from its package, tie a main line to the end above the bullet
weight and a leader to the swivel at the other end and "wa-la", you're
ready to go.

There are several versions available other than the one shown and of course you can always put your own together.

Many Variations To A Successful Rig Make It Even More Successful

Mojo Sinker Carolina Rig With NetBait Paca Craw

The Carolina Slider Weight Rig uses a cylindrical slip sinker
instead of a bullet shaped weight. These weights are alleged to come
through heavy cover and structure with ease. They do work to get your
lure down quickly and enable long casts as is needed when fishing a
Carolina Rig.

Another version of a Carolina Rig uses a cylindrical slip sinker weight
that is round and slightly curved. It is placed on the line above the
bead by threading the main line through its core and freely slides up
and down the line. In my personal experience its unusual shape and the
weight distribution in the curved cylinder do a very good job of
avoiding hang ups.

Somewhat unorthodox as weights go this particular set up has worked
very well for me in avoiding snags in rocky structure. I prefer the
previous style in grass and other cover.

The cylindrical weight is placed above the bead by running the main line through its eye and it hangs from the line
rather than the line threading the full length of the weight. The
weight freely slides up and down the line and allows line to be easily
pulled through it when the lure is picked up by a bass.

This rig is similar to the previous but different in that it uses weight
that has a thin extension on its bottom. This helps lift it out of rock
structure such as cracks and crevices. This works quite well actually.

The Carolina Tandem Rig utilizes a three-way swivel and two leader lines fixed with hooks and baits. Though shown here with two fluke style lures most any could be used.

Adjustable Weight Sinker and Yamamoto Spider Grub

The sinker shown in the image above is unique in that it incorporates
brass balls inside the cylinder which can be added or removed to adjust
the weight of the sinker without having to retie the entire rig. There
is also a swivel pre-attached to the cylinder shaped sinker.

Carolina Keeper Rig

This very simple device seen above is called a "Carolina Keeper".
It is simply a short piece of flexible but very stiff piece of
cylindrical plastic with a slit cut through its center. This is placed
on the main line between the sinker and the hook. It can be squeezed
with pliers to open the slit allowing the angler to slide it up or down
the line, thereby shortening or lengthening the leader. I've used this
often but it causes line twist while a swivel does not.